LIMESTONE, Maine — Interim Town Manager Tom Stevens announced during an Oct. 17 meeting that he would be leaving his post, and thanked the board and community for the experience.
“I found this to be a very challenging, rewarding, and humbling experience,” he said. “This is what my whole career has been about.”
Stevens, while he spent much of his municipal career as the Presque Isle City Manager, got his start in the town of Limestone, and acknowledged that the town put its faith in him when he was “at the ripe age of around 23 or 24 years old.”
“They put their faith in a very young manager,” he said. “I met my wife here, and I found it to be the most rewarding experience of my whole life. So with that, I extend my sincere appreciation to the board, and I wish the community the very best in the future.”
Limestone selectmen fired the former town manager in December 2017 and had Police Chief Stacey Mahan serve as interim manager for a few months before Stevens stepped in to help out in April.
Selectman Fred Pelletier commended Stevens’ work, saying that “we were bleeding for a while and you kinda put a Band-Aid on that.”
Limestone resident Julie Weston asked the board members when they plan to make a decision regarding hiring a new town manager.
“That’s something we’re considering and working on right now,” said board chairman Tom Albert. “You don’t just jump into it. Tom has done a good job, and we won’t go backward, we will go forward.”
Another resident asked why the town has still not appointed a new manager despite receiving 31 applications.
Albert said that while the board has reviewed all 31 applications, a good percentage had to be discounted as some candidates weren’t viable and “some of them are up there in price range that you could add your salary and mine and still wouldn’t” meet the criteria.
He said that the board members are working diligently and that they have offered a job to one applicant, but “don’t have an answer yet.”
Limestone resident Kathie Beaulieu said she felt it was good that the board was taking the time to ensure the selection of a suitable manager.
“I can hire someone tomorrow if that’s what you want,” said Albert, “but I don’t want you all to come search me down the next day. I want to make sure there’s an agreement amongst us.”
Stevens scheduled his final day for Tuesday, Oct. 23.
